after Seasons in the Abyss, they lost the special thing that made them different. The later records are of no interest at all for me._________________If you tell me to recycle
I'm going to kick your ass

after Seasons in the Abyss, they lost the special thing that made them different. The later records are of no interest at all for me.

This.
But nothing tops the debut in my eyes. I only wish I had been into metal when it was released, would have blown peoples minds after listening to Priest, Maiden etc.
As it was I discovered Slayer just after RIB was released, but the sheer intensity of the debut is where it is at, I still spin it at least once a fortnight, never gets old. Would easily make a top 5 albums of all time for me personally.
Pity they lost their way. But at least they released some classics for us to enjoy.

after Seasons in the Abyss, they lost the special thing that made them different.

They turned into a punk band writing protest songs about how much the world sucked, instead of what they once were, which was mages chronicling the joy of destruction of all that is holy._________________DEATH METAL UNDERGROUND

When RIB came out, it blew EVERYBODY away that was into punk and metal I knew and those I'd meet for years afterward.

What "Dark Angel's "Darkness Descends" was missing was Reign In Blood's immediately memorable, and catchy riffs, solos, choruses, and lyrics.

...and the intensity and dynamic too. I dug 'Darkness Descends' as a kid but I never considered it on par at all with 'Reign in Blood' and I still don't. Great album but the level of focussed audio violence just doesn't compare.

If you are oblivious to the fact that over the last 10 years Reign in Blood has been hyped way beyond what's necessary, and that it's pretty much because of these metalcore/nu metal idiots, I don't know what to tell you.

I hardly pay attention to what those fags say in interviews and I'll take your word for it. What I'm telling you is that RiB was considered the genre's manifesto by 'zines/fans back in 1988-89 already, whoever was there at the time can confirm that.